A disgruntled Washington dad is accused of assaulting two teenage referees during an “unprovoked” attack during a youth hockey game.
Uriel Isaac Cortes Gonzalez, 42, was seen walking onto the ice at the Kraken Community Iceplex in Seattle on Sunday and shoving the two officials at a 12U rec hockey game, according to KOMO.
Shocking footage shows posted by the Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association (PNAHA) president Jody Carpenter on Instagram shows Gonzalez approaching the referees — ages 13 and 14 years old — as they stood to the side during a break in the game and allegedly assaulted them.
Outraged onlookers are heard screaming in disgust.
“Hockey is a game of passion, but there is absolutely no place in our sport for the kind of egregious and outrageous behavior that occurred during a 12U Rec game here in Washington,” Carpenter wrote in the caption.
“In my over 40 years in hockey, I have never witnessed anything so completely unacceptable.”
Police arrived at the ice rink soon after the assault, but Gonzalez had already fled from the complex, KOMO reported.
Law enforcement arrested Gonzalez after he was stopped at a traffic light near the Kraken Community Iceplex.
He allegedly told law enforcement that his son was “assaulted” by an opposing player during the game, and the refs did nothing to stop it.
Gonzalez’s wife corroborated her husband’s story and shared video evidence of the incident with police.
However, police said they found no evidence of his son being assaulted, and Gonzalez’s attack on the young refs was “clearly unprovoked.”
“There is no evidence that supports XXXX claim that he acted in defense of his son at the time of the assault,” according to the police report obtained by KOMO.
“Multiple direct witnesses and video surveillance corroborated the account of the victims. XXXX assault on the two juveniles was clearly unprovoked and the conduct was especially egregious due to the size and age difference between the victims and the suspects.”
He was charged with two counts of assault on Tuesday.
Carpenter said that the juvenile refs “were very strong” and “in good spirits” after being assaulted.
“They can’t wait to ref their next game. I’m very proud of them – very proud of the ref association up there in Seattle, of supporting these kids and making sure that they know that they’re not alone,” he told the KING 5.
On Monday, the PNAHA suspended Gonzalez from participating in any USA Hockey-sanctioned activity under its control.
The organization will also hold an independent hearing to determine whether “appropriate action is taken in alignment with USA Hockey policies and bylaws.”
The assault on the juvenile refs comes a month after Washington Rep. Suzanne Schmidt introduced legislation in January to protect referees, KOMO reported.
“My reaction was, ‘That’s exactly why I’m running this bill,’” she said after seeing the video.
“More and more referees are pulling out, saying, ‘You know what? I’m not going to do this because I’m being physically assaulted.’”
Schmidt said if the law passes, it would make assaulting a ref, regardless of physical or verbal, a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $500 fine or six months in jail. It would also slap a one-year ban on offenders.
Read the full article here